“They have been shot at with pellet guns and hit by baseball bats. They have been confronted with pickaxes, crossbows and hammers. They’ve had lawn mowers pushed menacingly toward them and patio tables thrown their way. They have been nibbled by ducks, bitten by pit bulls and chased by packs of snarling dogs.”

Yikes!

The Census Bureau has reported 379 incidents involving assaults or threats against census workers — more than double the 181 during the 2000 census.

Sherri Chesney, a 46-year-old former census worker, told the Post that people cursed her and spit at her during her visits.

“I was stunned, I really was, that America is so mad at the government,” she said. “People don’t know what it’s like out there. It’s scary and dangerous, and it’s not worth my life.”

He pointed to the actions of a Minnesota congresswoman, who told The Washington Times she was refusing to complete most of her census form because she is afraid the information will be abused.

“When supposedly responsible leaders like U.S. Rep. Michele Bachmann tell the world that they’re illegally refusing to cooperate with census workers, it’s no surprise to see anger, threats and even violence directed at those same workers by gullible Americans,” Potok said. “People like the congresswoman ought to be ashamed of themselves.”

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About The Author

Jerry Mitchell, an investigative reporter for The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson, Miss., runs Journey to Justice, a blog that explores the intersection of justice and culture in this place we call the United States​. His work has helped put four Klansmen behind bars, including the assassin of NAACP leader Medgar Evers in 1963 and the man who orchestrated the Klan's 1964 killings of three civil rights workers. His latest stories have helped lead to the arrest of serial killer suspect Felix Vail — the last known person seen with three women. Mitchell, a 2009 MacArthur fellow, is writing a book on cold cases from the civil rights era.